Now to a more fun topic, I had been at Microsoft a little over a month when it was time for my first corporate Christmas Party. The Microsoft X-Mas party in the early years was an event. It was held at the Washington Convention Center in downtown Seattle. It was first class and unlike the pathetic departmental X-Mas parties of today at Microsoft. Todays events are about schmoozing the boss, introducing your significant other to the big boss, and trying not to bore your significant other with shop talk. The old parties were an event bent on sin. In short really fun stuff.  My first event I got together with the old temps Jovanna, Andrea, and Steve to go to the party.  I was taking Jovanna and Andrea’s friend, Lisa, to the event.  Not a date I just had an extra ticket.  Lisa was from LA , who was a customer service manager and fallen in love with one of her reps.  I was a CS Rep and maybe…naah.  Amazing what you learn in short time after meeting someone.  The event was huge probably 5000 people.    Interesting that it was formal attire, very un Microsoft like.  By being so large you could pretty much do what you wanted since you rarely ran into any co-workers.  There was great food at every turn, the drinks were first-rate (beer, wine & cocktail..not cheap stuff either).  Each room had a theme, in fact the whole party had a theme.  I just cannot remember what it was in 1991.  It was a long evening.  I remember there were room parties as many people got a hotel room downtown and you would go hang out for a few drinks.  It was a surreal experience at the age of 25.  So many people I did not know, everything was free..the whole night was kind of a blur.  There would be one or two more parties like this before they would just drift off as a part of Microsoft folklore.  It was a cool experience and one I will never forget.  As I was talking the other day with someone who was there at Microsoft at the time, she stated “It was an event”…in a geeky glamorous sort of way.